Soldering rings have been used in various fields for some time. Generally, a soldering ring, which is simply a preformed ring or solder material having a center hole which is sized to fit the item to be soldered, is slipped over the item to be soldered, which is usually cylindrical and which has been prepositioned in the item to which it is to be soldered, usually in a hole therein so that the item to be soldered is loosely supported in the item to which it is to be soldered. Basically, the item to be soldered, the item to which it is to be soldered, and the solder ring meet at the surface or joint at which the soldering is to occur. A suitable flux having been provided, heat is applied to the solder joint by a suitable means such as a heat gun or lamp or by heating the solder joint in an oven so as to melt the solder ring and complete the solder joint.
In the electrical connector field the items to be soldered and the item to which they are soldered usually comprise connector pins and a printed circuit board, respectively, with the pins being supported, before soldering, in appropriate printed circuit board holes where a printed circuit about the hole and its 5 associated pin will comprise the solder joint. A solder ring is assembled over each pin and heat applied to complete the solder joints.